Reflections on FOSS

This class, CSCI 462, is centered around contributing to an open-source software project through bug fixes, documentation fixes, and other improvements. Before the class, I’m a bit ashamed to say that I wasn’t sure exactly what made software open-source. The initial readings in this class have made this clearer to me. Whereas closed-source software does not release its source code to the public except in a compiled-executable state, free and open-source software allows the public to view and modify source code. This has allowed the public to “volunteer” and contribute to open-source projects which have become incredibly successful. Some examples include Firefox, WordPress, and, as discussed in The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Linux.

As we start the semester, we are tasked with choosing an open-source project to contribute to. Those of us on the team who took CSCI 362 with Dr. Bowring understand how important it is to choose a “good” project - choosing the wrong project can create loads of extra work and stress throughout the semester. Some of the criteria Dr. Bowring supplied us with, specifically for choosing an open-source project this semester, include project maturity and openness to newcomers. While looking through projects, we’ve judged project maturity by the project timeline and release dates, but judging openness to newcomers has been a bit more difficult.

With choosing an open-source project for this semester in mind, I looked out for additional ideas about what makes one great while reading our assigned text, the The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric Steven Raymond. In this text, Raymond describes his own experience with open-source projects, particularly Linux and Fetchmail.

Raymond discusses the struggle between the Cathedral (closed-source) approach and the Bazaar approach to software development. Before Linux, the most popular software development style was like building a cathedral - individuals or small teams built software carefully like it was a beautiful, delicate building. They made larger, less frequent releases. Linux broke this mold and much of what the author thought to be best software development practice. The Linux open-source community was like a Bazaar. I had to look that one up - it’s a busy, permanently enclosed marketplace or street where goods and services are exchanged or sold, particularly in the Middle East. Linus Torvalds, the developer of Linux, spearheaded this style. He created a community of people with different “agendas and approaches.” Keeping this community organized as the “gatekeeper,” Torvalds built Linux without terribly much work on his part.

So, which style is better? The author, Raymond, argues that the Bazaar approach is the way to go in today’s world. As long as an open-source project has a good leader, “many heads are inevitably better than one.” The Bazaar style of software development, the Linux development model, supports early and frequent releases. It keeps larger teams stimulated and rewarded as they see their hard work (fixes, improvements, and the like) in action sooner. Releasing early and often also supports code reuse and prevents code duplication as fixes turnover quickly. In other words, code doesn’t sit idly for six months between releases as the cathedral style of development would have it.

With the agile framework becoming more popular, the Bazaar style has also taken off since the community built Linux. Hence, fortunately, many of the projects we will look at as candidates will replicate this style. These projects are also more like to welcome newcomers as they tend towards larger teams and more frequent releases that could include our bug fixes and improvements. I’m thankful that this article was assigned as we are searching for projects so our team can keep development style in mind!

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